"Yeah. Okay. Thanks." AJ said, hanging up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Vert asked upon seeing his friends worried face.

"Uhm…" AJ began, unsure of how to start.

"It's okay, AJ. You can tell us." Agura comforted, patting him on the back and indicating for him to sit down with them.

"Well, it's my uncle. He…he's had some heart problems in the past, and now…" AJ swallowed a sob. "He needs quadruple-bypass-surgery. The arteries got really clogged, and…" His voice broke.

"Oh, AJ." Agura said, pulling him into a hug.

"Don't worry. It'll be okay." Vert added, joining the hug.

"Yeah! If your uncle's half as tough as you, he'll be out in no time." Spinner assured him as everybody but Tezz piled on the teary Canadian.

"Get in here, Tezz!" Agura called jokingly, but the Russian simply shook his head and ran out. Vert cocked his head.

"I'll go check on him." Vert said, but Agura shook her head.

"AJ needs us right now, Vert. We can deal with Tezz in a minute." She whispered, and the blonde nodded his understanding.

"No, I'll…I'm fine. You guys go." AJ tried to convince them, wiping his eyes.

"Geez! You're too darn nice, you know that?" Agura said, laughing. "One teammate at a time!"

"Alright. Thanks, guys." AJ said as the hug broke up.

"I know! Wanna watch a movie? Chill out for awhile?" Spinner offered. He was no teddy bear, but he knew how to distract the survivalist.

"Yeah. That sounds good." AJ sniffled, drying his eyes.

"How about…hey! Ferris Bueller's Day Off! You love that movie!" Spinner suggested, not leaving much room for debate.

"I'll make popcorn." Agura offered. "Go check with Tezz?" She whispered to Vert, who nodded.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Hey, Tezz?" Vert knocked softly on his door. "Mind if I come in?" There was no response, so he slowly swung the door open to find Tezz sitting on his bed, back facing Vert.

"Hey." Vert began, sitting next to him. "You okay?"

"I am fine." Tezz responded, turning away, but Vert wasn't satisfied.

"Tezz, it's alright if you wanna walk about it. What's going on?"

"I told you, nothing is wrong!" Tezz said angrily, but Vert heard his voice break.

"We're a team, Tezz." He said firmly. "I just want to know what's wrong. I'm trying to understand."

Tezz sighed. Still not facing his leader, he began to talk. "When I was younger, my mom began having heart problems too." Vert nodded, indicating for him to continue.

"It was only a few weeks after she had my baby sister, Elina. We didn't have the money to get her to a hospital." He paused, clearing his throat. "And we didn't know what to do. A few weeks later, she had a heart attack. Our neighbor called the hospital, and we were forced to let them take her. They….they lost her." Tezz let out a small gasp, and Vert put an arm around him.

"I'm really sorry about your mom, Tezz." He comforted.

"It didn't end there, Vert." Tezz said more darkly. "The hospital charged us, more money than we could afford. My father was already working two jobs. He was never home. My older siblings had to take on jobs too, and suddenly I was the only one left home to take care of my four younger brothers and sisters."

"How old were you?" Vert asked.

"Ten." Tezz answered, with no emotion. "I made it work. We were barely surviving, not even two meals a day. We just dealt with it, but…it wasn't enough for Elina. She was so young, and…I just couldn't…" Tezz trailed off, holding back tears.

"It's okay, Tezz. It isn't your fault." Vert said softly. Tezz sniffled.

"We eventually we managed to pay off the hospital bills. Things got better at home." He concluded, finally facing the other man.

"So, why were you so upset?" Vert asked.

"Because AJ doesn't know what it's like! He can actually afford the surgery! He wasn't responsible for the death of his baby sister!" Tezz cried. "The only thing he has to worry about is if the surgery goes well. He has no idea what it's like to live with bigger problems, like having to give up your food so that your siblings don't starve!" Vert was silent for a moment.

"I know your life was hard, Tezz. I'm not denying that. But that doesn't mean AJ doesn't have the right to be worried. He loves his family just as much as you did." Vert stood, leaving Tezz to his thoughts.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Hey. Whatcha making?" Vert asked Agura as he entered the kitchen.

"Monster cookies. Don't tell AJ, I wanna surprise him. They're his favorite." She explained. "How'd it go with Tezz?" Agura handed him a spoon and bowl. "Mix this."

"Alright, I guess." He said, taking the bowl. "Just some bad memories." Vert explained the fragment of Tezz's past he had heard, and Agura's eyes widened.

"That's awful! Poor Tezz. Do you think he's mad at AJ?" She asked.

"Yeah." Vert admitted. "But I think he'll be okay. They're more alike right now than they'll ever be. It'd be great if they would bond somehow." He handed the mix back to her, and she combined it with another.

"I know. With them at the Hub together so much, it'd be great if they could get along." She agreed. "Here, help me scoop these." Vert complied, making balls of cookie dough with her on the sheet.

"Well, I wouldn't say they don't get along." He commented.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't call them friends either." She replied, sliding the cookie sheets into the hot oven. "Who knows? Maybe this'll bring them together."

"I hope so." Vert said as they joined the others on the couch.

"Hey gu-" Sherman began, but Spinner shushed him.

"Quiet! It's my favorite line!" He said.

"Pardon my French, but Cameron is so tight that if you stuck a lump of coal up his a**, in two weeks you'd have a diamond."

Spinner busted out laughing, while the others just chuckled, giving him strange looks.

"It wasn't that funny…" Stanford said, but Spinner continued.

"A lump of coal! BWAHAHAHAHA!"

"I'll be right back…" Agura said, leaving. A few minutes later she returned with cookies, to find Spinner still laughing.

"Cookies!" AJ cried. "I LOVE YOU, AGURA!" He shouted, taking the plate. Agura grinned.

"Wait, I want cookies!" Stanford complained.

"Well, move your butt!" Spinner, who had finally stopped laughing in order to eat, told him.

"Hmph." Stanford finally moved and took a cookie. Once the movie was over and the cookies all eaten, AJ was the first to speak.

"Thanks, guys. You're the best."

"Awww…" Spinner joked, giving him a hug.

"Don't mention it. We're here for ya." Agura said kindly.

"Uhm, AJ?" Tezz appeared at the door.

"Oh, hey Tezz. Sup?" AJ asked nonchalantly.

"Uhm, I would just like to express my regrets about your uncle. I hope he recovers." Tezz said stiffly.

"Hey, thanks man. Means a lot." AJ responded.

"You're welcome." Tezz managed a small grin. "Uh, when is the surgery?" AJ's cheery demeanor faded.

"Next week. I think I'm going to go and stay with my family for a few days; to help out and stuff." He said.

"Whatever you have to do." Vert assured him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

One Week Later:

Everybody was gathered in the garage, nervously awaiting the news as AJ pulled in.

"Oh, hey guys." He said easily. "What'd I miss?" His grin showed that he knew he was torturing them.

"Oh you know exactly what you missed!" Agura snapped, but her eyes were smiling. "How'd everything go?"

AJ's grin fell, and he looked down.

"My uncle…uh…he didn't…" He trailed off.

"Oh." Vert was the first to speak, embracing his friend. "We're real sorry, AJ."

"JK! Suckers!" AJ yelled, pulling out of the hug. "Everything went great!"

"Ugh! AJ, you jerk!" Spinner said, but his face said that he was happy.

"Aw, come on, guys! Gotta admit, that was pretty funny." AJ tried. Vert chuckled.

"Glad to have you back, AJ."